A Visit from St. Nicholas

December 9, 2015

A Visit from St. Nicholas, more commonly know today as ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas, by Clement Clarke Moore was written in 1822 and published anonymously in the Troy, New York Sentinel on December 23, 1823. This simple 14 stanza composition is largely responsible for the concept of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer as well as the tradition that he brings toys to children. This poem took elements of legend and previous writings, such as those of Washington Irving, to create what is considered the first modern American story about Santa Claus.

1896 edition

According to legend, the poem was written by Moore for his family during a shopping trip on a sleigh. His inspiration for the character of Saint Nicolas was a local Dutch handyman as well as the historical 4th-century saint who had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him. Moore’s conception of Saint Nicolas was borrowed from his friend Washington Irving’s work A History of New York, but Moore portrayed his “jolly old elf” as arriving Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day to avoid any religious connotations. Moore is also the first to characterize Saint Nicholas as riding in a sleigh.

Our cultural visions of Santa are from this poem. The image was cemented by artist like Thomas Nast, Norman Rockwell, and Haddon Sundblom for Coca-Cola ads, they and many others drawing from descriptions in Moore’s poem. The poem has been continuously in print and placed into song.